Ready for another corpse plant flower, Raleigh? It’s about to make a stink.

NC State is gearing up for some adoring and disgusted attention. One of its stinky corpse plants is about to bloom.

A sizable Amorphophallus titanum specimen is expected to blossom Monday evening, horticulturists at NC State predict. Every time this happens, people want to see it, in the flesh and online.

“It’s one of those plants that makes people’s bucket lists, even if they’re not a plant person,” said horticulturist Brandon Huber. “It’s a very dinosaur, Jurassic Park type of flower.”

The pungent flower is a 6-feet-tall, 3-feet-wide curiosity, dubbed corpse flower because of the rotting-flesh scent its maroon interior releases while flowering.

Native to the rain forests of Indonesia, the plant’s seemingly odd features are assets in the wild. When these plants bloom, they heat to human body temperature, allowing their perfume to rise and float far to attract pollinators.

The university announces when any of its three corpse plants flower in order to highlight how unusual plants can be, said Huber, who recently earned his Ph.D. at NC State.

“With a flower that’s bigger than a person and smells bad, and is so unusual, people are able to see what plants are capable of doing,” said Huber, who nicknamed this year’s bloomer Lupin years ago in honor of the NC State mascot.

It was unusual plants like these that sparked Huber’s interest in horticulture when he was a kid. He hopes it does the same for others.

“It’s hard to know this, but this plant could inspire many young people to pursue something in the plant world,” he said.

At NC State, Huber tends three corpse plants, which bloom at staggered times. In past years, people drove hundreds of miles to encounter them, Huber said. Lupin’s last bloom in 2016 drew an estimated 5,000 people over a weekend, he said.

This year, people will be able to experience the plant in person for 10 minutes at a time in groups of 10. Registration is required here.

For the curious who want to keep their distance, NC State set up a livestream. Following along on social media is an option, too.

On Twitter, the hashtag is #Lupin2016, left over from the year the plant first bloomed. On Instagram, the handle is @ncstatecals.

This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 6:30 AM.